The invention relates to a carbon patterned structure, method of making and use. More particularly, the invention relates to a thermoelectric structure.
The dissipation of heat from physical objects, electrical circuits and especially from such devices as semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, microprocessors and charge coupled devices is important. Operating temperature has a direct impact on maximum available clocking speed and thus overall speed and performance of a semiconductor. Further, higher operating temperatures restrict the permissible operating voltage and ambient temperature environment of a circuit. Lastly, semiconductor life span is adversely impacted by higher operating temperatures.
Numerous types of cooling systems have been devised for controlling the temperature of electronic devices. In one mechanism, generated heat is transferred away from the component to ambient environment, usually the surrounding room air. The heat transfer can be accomplished for example, by associating a thermal dissipating device such as a heat sink, with the component. A heat sink is a thermal dissipating device that comprises a structure, generally metal, that is thermally coupled to a heat source such as a microprocessor. The heat sink draws heat energy away from the heat source by conduction of the energy from a high-temperature region to the lower-temperature region of the heat sink.
Heat sinks with or without forced convection have been used in integrated circuit design to provide macro scale convection cooling. Freedman, U.S. Pat. No. 7,208,191 teaches structures comprising a thermal energy generating component and a thermal dissipating device in thermal conductive contact with the component. The thermal energy generating component may be an integrated circuit package such as a microprocessor. The thermal dissipating device comprises a substrate with a fullerene deposit. The thermal dissipating device effectively acts as a heat sink to dissipate heat away from the component.
However, conduction heat flow to the thermal dissipating device can be limited by heat flow pathway thermal resistance within the integrated circuit package to the heat sink or to dissipation to the ambient. Regardless of the effectiveness of the heat sink or dissipating device associated with the package, an effective conductive heat transfer pathway through package to the heat sink must be provided to avoid localized areas of high temperature or “hot spots.”
Currently, there is a need for an improved heat dissipating system associated with integrated circuit packages that dissipates greater amounts of heat per unit size and for a method of producing such a structure within cost constraints. There is a need for an effective conductive heat transfer pathway through the integrated circuit package for dissipation to the ambient either directly or via an associated heat sink